This invention relates to the preparation of large mailings and the like. More particularly it relates to systems and apparatus for the preparation of documents and the assembly of multiple mailpieces including such documents.
The term xe2x80x9cmailpiecesxe2x80x9d as used herein means items intended to be delivered by a postal service or private courier service. Typically preparation of mailpieces includes, but is not limited to, printing or otherwise providing documents including variable information pertaining to addressees of the mailpieces and the assembly of such documents with other elements of the mailpiece. The term xe2x80x9cassemblyxe2x80x9d as used herein means the execution of actions to incorporate the documents into mailpieces. Typically, such actions can include: accumulating documents with other materials such as preprinted inserts, folding and inserting the resulting accumulations into envelopes, printing addresses and other information on the outside of the envelopes, and franking the mailpiece with an appropriate postage amount.
Inserter systems for the assembly of mailpieces are well known. A typical inserter system is shown in FIG. 1. Inserter system 10 includes burster/feeder 12 which inputs preprinted documents in fanfold form, separates the documents and removes and discards sprocket feed strips FS from the edges of the document. Each group of documents for a particular mailpiece includes at least control document CD. On control documents CD strips FS are marked with code BC which is read by scanner 14 before strips FS are removed. In simpler systems code BC can be a xe2x80x9cdash codexe2x80x9d of the type known for use in directly controlling inserter systems. In newer, more complex systems code BC can be a conventional bar code which serves as a pointer to a mailpiece record which record contains information for controlling the inserter; as will be more fully described below. In other known inserter systems, the documents can be in cut sheet form and a cut sheet feeder can be used in place of burster/feeder 12.
Control document CD, and any additional associated pages are fed from burster feeder 12 to accumulator 16 where documents for each mailpiece are formed into separate accumulations A and folded.
Accumulation A is then fed to insert stations 20A and 20B where preprinted inserts I are added to form accumulations A1 and A2. Those skilled in the art will of course recognize that the number of such insert stations used will vary from application to application.
Accumulation A2 is then fed to insert station 22 where it is inserted into an envelope and sealed to form mailpiece MP.
Mailpiece MP is then fed to address printer 24 which prints address AD on the outside of the envelope. Depending on the size of the print field of printer 24, printer 24 also can be used to print other information such as a variable return address (or other text message) RA, logo L, and postal barcode PBC on the envelope. ( Those skilled in the art will recognize that dash codes as described above typically cannot include sufficient information to define even address AD so that systems incorporating dash codes typically use window envelopes to provide addressing information.)
System 10 also includes out stacker 30 for diverting mailpieces when an error is detected.
As noted above, inserter systems wherein said code BC is a barcode which is used as a pointer to a mailpiece record (i.e. an electronic record associated with a mailpiece to be assembled) are known. By incorporating data for controlling assembly of mailpieces in mailpiece records an essentially unlimited amount of data can be associated with each mailpiece. Thus addresses, return addresses, logos, and postal bar codes can all be readily specified in addition to specification of the number of inserts to be added at each insert feeder, postage amounts, etc. Systems incorporating such mailpiece records are described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,505; to: Axelrod et al.; for: Mail Preparation System; issued Jan. 24, 1989, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Embodiments of the system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,505 are marketed by the assignee of the present application under the name xe2x80x9cDirect Connectionxe2x80x9d, described in The Direct Connection, version 1.30.
While systems such as those described above have proven highly successful certain disadvantages remain. In particular certain initial job set-up parameters must be defined for systems such as that shown in FIG. 1 for each mailing job. Such parameters can include feeder settings, document weights, document priorities, and postage meter settings. Typically these parameters where set by defining one or more xe2x80x9cmodesxe2x80x9d, i.e. records of particular sets of values of the job set-up parameters for jobs typically run in a mailroom and loading the corresponding mode when a job was to be run. When an atypical job not corresponding to an existing mode was to be run an operator would load a mode and override selected default values in that mode with the actual values for that job. This of course creates a possibility that an operator will override the wrong parameter or assign incorrect parameter values. As a result many mailrooms establish unique modes for every combination of parameter values which will be used. The operator is then responsible for selecting the correct corresponding mode for each job. This approach results in many modes on an inserter system; contributing to two potential problems: the operator may select the wrong mode, or, when a parameter value must be changed (e.g. a different weight print stock is introduced) the change is not made to all modes which require it.
Thus it is an object of the subject invention to provide a system, apparatus and method for the preparation and assembly of mailpieces with an improved capability for handling system set-up.
The above object is achieved and the disadvantages of the prior art are overcome in accordance with the subject invention by means of a system, apparatus and method for preparing mailpieces and the like; the mailpieces each including a control document, the control documents each including data for determining a unique identification code. The apparatus includes: a data store storing a mailing control file, the mailing control file comprising a plurality of mailpiece records, each of the records including a plurality of fields, the fields containing data for controlling assembly of a mailpiece, and each of the records including one of the unique identification codes, whereby each of the records defines preparation of at least one corresponding mailpiece, the file also comprising data for determining specified job parameters for initial set-up of the apparatus; an inserter system or the like for assembling the mailpieces, the inserter system including a scanner for detecting and outputting the determining data from the control documents, the inserter system being responsive to initial set-up signals to set-up job parameters for a particular mailing job corresponding to the mailing control file; and a controller. The controller functions to: initially access the data store to determine the specified job parameters; generate the initial set-up signals to control set-up of the inserter system in accordance with the specified job parameters; and then access the records in accordance with the determining data from the control documents; and control the inserter system to prepare the corresponding mailpieces in accordance with the records.
In accordance with one aspect of the subject invention, the specified job parameters are comprised in a header for the mailing control file.
In accordance with another aspect of the subject invention, the specified job parameters are comprised in a file separate from the mailing control file.
In accordance with another aspect of the subject invention, the separate file is comprised in a database of set-up mode files.
In accordance with still another aspect of the subject invention the controller derives the separate file""s name as a fiction of the mailing control file""s name.